Another memo to people who are against Interleague Play

Of the many criticisms of Interleague Play, one that keeps coming up is how unfair some of the match ups are.

How can a schedule be fair if some teams play good teams and some play lousy teams?
When you looked at the schedule at the beginning of the year, I bet you thought "Red Sox vs. Pirates? What a joke!"

And I confess, after I saw the Red Sox beat up the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays and Brewers... I looked at the Padres and Pirates series as more big W's.

Instead, the Sox have lost 3 of their first 4 games against San Diego and Pittsburgh.
The answer to that criticism is PLAY THE GAMES. Sometimes the lowly teams will get up for the game.

Sometimes the big bully will look past the lowly team.

Either way, a packed house in Pittsburgh saw their team beat the Red Sox and creep a little closer to respectability.

Don't believe me?
46% of the way through the season and the Pirates have a winning record and are 2 games out of the loss column for first place.

Either way, time to update the tally.

DODGED BULLET GAMES - 21

April 8 - 9-6 win against the Yankees. (The Sox end their 6 game losing streak with a slugfest. John Lackey stinks but Phil Hughes stinks even more.)
April 10 - 4-0 win against the Yankees. (Beckett and Sabathia duel in a game that was 1-0 until the late innings.)
April 20 - 5-3 win in Oakland. (Red Sox survive a lead off homer and two bases loaded situations and facing the tying run at the plate to win their first road game.)
April 21 - 4-2 win in Anaheim. (The Red Sox stranded 15 men on base and Josh Beckett's went 8 strong with no decision. But the Sox rallied in the 11th to win.)
April 22 - 4-3 win in Anaheim. (Peter Bourjos makes a 2 run errors and the Red Sox survive a bizarre passed ball by Jarrod Saltalamacchia that let a run scored from second.)
May 1 - 3-2 win against the Mariners. (Ichiro loses a ball in the sun that turns into a 9th inning triple for Lowrie. Crawford singles him home for the win.)
May 8 - 9-5 win against the Twins. (Dice-K lets up 3 runs in the first but settles down as the Red Sox clobber Carl Pavano.)

May 9 - 2-1 win against the Twins. (A bullpen breakdown cost Beckett the decision but Cark Crawford ended the game with an 11th inning walk off hit.)
May 13 - 5-4 win in the Bronx. (Youkilis homers off of Joba and Bard and Papelbon make it more interesting than it needed to be.)
May 15 - 7-5 win in the Bronx. (Sox fall behind 4-1 but come back as Youk, Papi and Salty all homer.)
May 16 - 8-7 win against the Orioles. (Down 6-0 after 6 innings, the Sox rally and win it with a 2 run walk off double by Adrian Gonzalez)
May 18 - 1-0 win against Detroit. (With 2 outs in the 8th, Salty doubles home Crawford from first for the only run. Papelbon gets himself in and out of 9th inning trouble.)
May 19 - 4-3 win against Detroit. (Bard blows Beckett's lead but Carl Crawford wins it with a walk off hit.)
May 24 - 4-2 win in Cleveland. (Varitek throws two runners out and homers as the Red Sox win their first game against the Indians.)
May 29 - 4-3 win in Detroit. (The Red Sox blow an early 3-0 lead but David Ortiz wins the game with a pinch 9th inning homer.)
June 3 - 8-6 win against Oakland. (Buchholz lets up 4 runs in the first but the Sox come back thanks to Carl Crawford's 2 run single.)
June 4 - 9-8 win against Oakland. (Red Sox blow a 4 run 9th inning lead and trail in the 11th before Ellsbury ties it and Drew wins it in 14.)
June 7 - 6-4 win in the Bronx. (Papelbon strikes out A-Rod to end the game with a runner on base.)
June 9 - 8-3 win in the Bronx. (Down 2-0 to Sabathia in the 7th, the Sox score 7 runs as Papi exacts revenge after getting plunked. A 3+ hour rain delay pushed the game past 1:30 AM)

June 15 - 3-0 win in Tampa Bay. (Youkilis homers in the 7th for the only runs in Beckett's 1 hit masterpiece.)
June 16 - 4-2 win in Tampa Bay. (Papelbon wiggles out of a 2 on, nobody out jam in the 9th thanks to Youk's diving catch.)

TEETH GRINDER GAMES - 20

April 1 - 9-5 loss in Texas. (The Sox tie Opening Day in the 8th with an Ortiz homer only to have Bard implode and the Sox let up 4 in the bottom of the 8th.)

April 5 - 3-1 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox drop their 4th straight as the bats are dead in Cleveland.)
April 7 - 1-0 loss in Cleveland. (Sox blow a great Lester performance on a squeeze bunt and Darnell McDonald overrunning the bag to end the game.)
April 12 - 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. (A solid Lester performance is wasted as Kyle Farnsworth of all people shuts down the Sox.)
April 15 - 7-6 loss to Toronto. (Bobby Jenks implodes with a 4 run seventh inning as the Red Sox waste Pedroia and Youkilis homers and a clutch RBI double by Scuatro.
April 19 - 5-0 loss in Oakland. (Pedroia gets picked off, the Sox bats go dead and waste a solid Lackey start.)
April 26 - 4-1 loss in Baltimore. (Buchholz pitches tentatively and the Sox let Kevin Gregg of all people to close out the 9th.)
April 27 - 5-4 loss in Baltimore. (The Sox tie the game with a 3 run 8th only to have Bard lose it in the bottom of the 8th.)
April 29 - 5-4 loss to Mariners. (Bobby Jenks blows a 7th inning lead, wasting 2 Mike Cameron homers.)
April 30 - 2-0 loss to Mariners. (The Sox strand 11 runners and let Milton Bradley double home the go ahead run.)
May 4 - 5-3 loss to Angels. (7 hours with rain delays and stranded runners. Marco Scutaro was thrown out at the plate in the 12th)
May 10 - 7-6 loss in Toronto. (8th and 9th inning heroics, including a homer by Adrian Gonzalez, are undone by a walk off sacrifice fly by David Cooper.)
May 21 - 9-3 loss to Cubs. (Up 3-1 in the 8th inning, the bullpen and defense implode. The Cubs score 8 runs while both teams wear their 1918 uniforms.)
May 23- 3-2 loss in Cleveland. (The Sox blow a 2-1 8th inning lead when the Indians rally with 2 outs. Crawford ends the game on a double play.)
May 29 - 3-0 loss in Detroit. (Verlander keeps the Sox off base and prevents the sweep.)
June 1 - 7-4 loss to White Sox. (Konerko drives in three, spoiling a game tying Ortiz homer.)

June 14 - 4-0 loss in Tampa Bay. (Wakefield's solid outing is spoiled. Longoria scores on a passed ball.)
June 18 - 4-2 loss to Milwaukee. (The Brewers hit three homers early off of Lester and hang on.)
June 21 - 5-4 loss to San Diego. (Ortiz hits a double play in the 9th to stifle a potential winning rally.)

June 24 - 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh. (The Red Sox strand 7 runners in scoring position.)

All the way down to +1.

What do you expect? The Sox are playing an elite team like the Pirates. I'm telling you, it's not fair for Boston!

Baseball purists must have HATED last night in Pittsburgh

Seriously, it must have been an awful sight to see the travesty of Interleague Play going on in Pittsburgh.

You know how every year someone writes the obligatory "Interleague Play Has Run Its Course" article? Those writers must have been banging their keyboards with disgust at the events at PNC Park.

You see the Orioles came to town... an American League team. And like the Pirates, the Orioles are currently under .500 (just like both teams have been every year for more than a decade.)

But the teams were honoring the 1971 World Series. And both teams were dressed in the uniforms of that series.

The Pirates were decked out in their yellow hats and pull over uniforms.

The belt was part of the pants and basically they were pajamas... pajamas worn by champions.









The Orioles broke out the smiling bird cap. And when Mark Reynolds made a nice stop at third base, it brought back some memories of Brooks Robinson.





And there was a reunion of the players involved in the series, including a big hand for Bill Mazeroski and Manny Sanguillen.

And with it being the 40th anniversary of the Series, the city of Pittsburgh could celebrate that title with some added nostalgia with the Orioles in town.

Or as purists of the game would call it "A travesty!"

The 1971 Pirates were a significant team as Bruce Markusen wrote in his wonderful The Team That Changed Baseball. They were the first team to field a starting lineup that didn't have a single white player and broke the barrier for bringing in minority players at all levels. It was one thing to sign a super star black player or Latin player. But that Pirate team fielded a roster that included role players and relievers of color, something that was not common before.

You wouldn't want to celebrate a team like that.

Or if you do, make sure you do it when the Rockies are in town, or the Padres or the Nationals.

Just not the ORIOLES! Because even though the Orioles are directly linked to the 1971 Pirates, they are an American League team... and having an American League team and a National League play each other is just bad for the sport.

I feel for those purists. They must have seen that celebration and said "Baseball is ruined."

Beating a dead horse... you are nuts if you are against Interleague Pleay

The Red Sox and Rockies are squaring off...
The Rox beat the Sox in a thriller last night in their match up since the 2007 World Series, and the Rockies got revenge on Jon Lester, who won the clinching game in in '07, by beating him and also on World Series MVP Mike Lowell who was retired for the last out.

The Sox offense will probably come back in the thin air and deep power alleys of Coors Field.

But on the mound tonight for Colorado is Ubaldo Jimenez.

He's having a mind boggling first half of the season and is the Cy Young front runner.

Shouldn't the Cy Young winner have to face all the best teams in the game? The Red Sox have the second most wins in the big leagues and Jimenez is facing them while they are hot, last night's loss not withstanding.

And he could be getting revenge for Game 2 of the 2007 World Series... a game where Jimenez pitched and actually had the lead for a few innings before the Sox clawed a pair of runs off of him to get the lead and the win.

You don't get this match up in a regular season game without Interleague Play.
There isn't this kind of intrigue about a late June game if it were two contending teams in the same league.

And yet some lunatics will still say it should be abolished.

And THIS lunatic will continue pointing out how insane that point of view is.
I don't care if the horse is dead. Give me that whip!

Jimenez vs. Mauer ... YOU WOULDN'T WANT THAT Interleague Foes?

JUST as I finished typing my last entry about Jimenez pitching against the Twins, Joe Mauer came up to the plate.

The front runner of the 2010 National League Cy Young Award faced off against the defending American League MVP.

The crowd loved it... taking pictures of the match up.

It is PRECISELY the unorthodox head to head match ups that Interleague Play has in mind.

Mauer lined out in a bang bang play where the runner at first was doubled up.

Jimenez goes 8 strong with 1 run... ups his record to 13-1 and has a 1.15 ERA now. And Twin fans got to see on a beautiful June day a match up they wouldn't normally see.

Ohhhh. So bad for baseball!

Jimenez is on the mound... and Interleague Play opponents HATE IT

It's a beautiful day game in Minnesota. A decent crowd is on hand and they are getting a real treat. Ubaldo Jimenez is on the mound for the Colorado Rockies.

He's having a Cy Young caliber season and his ERA ROSE to 1.16 in his last win in Denver. He's having a remarkable season, looking to be the first starting pitcher since Roger Clemens in 2005 to finish the season with a sub 2.00 ERA and enough innings pitched for the ERA title.

And remember he's doing that pitching half of his games in DENVER!

So Twins fans will get a chance to see Jimenez pitch against Morneau (sadly Mauer isn't playing) in the beautiful new park. And they are seeing him at his peak... and they probably wouldn't see him again for a few years as the Interleague Matchups rotate.

It's a good fun and unusual day for baseball... and again it shows the opponents of Interleague Play have got NOTHING.

If this were a game in Houston, or Pittsburgh or Arizona there would be nothing unique about it. The Rockies come through a few times a year anyhow.

But here Twins fans have a chance to see their team face someone having a possibly historic season.

Keep games like this in mind the next time you hear some of the same sorry bogus complaints about Interleague Play!

Going into the season who thought a Rockies/Twins game was going to be interesting?
Probably as many people who circled a Nationals/Indians game on their schedule.

It's good for baseball... especially in mid June when the excitement of the season starting has worn off but it is still too early to feel like a pennant race.

Deal with it folks. Interleague Play works and it is cool.
Sorry things that work and are cool upset you.

(By the way, he threw shutout ball into the 8th. The Twins are now rallying. The crowd is into it. Better not have THAT happen on a June day!)

Strasburg is doing is again...

So far so awesome for Strasburg.
5 strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings with no walks!

A packed house in Cleveland getting their only chance to see Strasburg before the 2016 Presidential campaign.

(But foes of Interleague Play think this is bad for baseball... I guess reality is difficult for some people to process.)

People against Interleague Play are WRONG! Reason #2,893

Oh people spend each year writing about Interleague Play being dumb and past its worth.

And each year the people who write that look stupider and stupider.

Their reasons make less and less sense. And they are always contradicted by things like "facts" and "reality."

I know I covered a lot of this earlier when I wrote my people against interleague play are morons post, but it is now beyond opinion.

One of the insane reasons that people say Interleague Play is obsolete is the match ups.

"Who cares about the Orioles versus the Marlins?" et al. As if an Orioles versus anyone is a riveting match up.

But I bet one of the pairings that would have been ridiculed would be the Indians and the Nationals.

Starting the season, it would be a 97 loss Indians club taking on the worst team in the game. Who cares?

And even with the Nationals playing better than expected, they are two sub .500 teams with no history between each other facing off.

Two also rans between the AL team with the worst attendance in the league facing a team with one of the worst attendance numbers in the NL.

Who cares? Just another terrible Interleague Matchup.

And it will be sold out and on National TV!

Why?

Stephen Strasburg is making his second start... and he's doing it in Cleveland.

The team with the worst attendance in the game will probably be jumping and buzzing with excitement. There will be excitement in a regular season game in June.

This will be Strasburg's only trip through Cleveland until probably around 2016.

Fans want to see the phenom up close and for real. It will probably be the biggest game in Progressive Field all season long.

And it would NOT happen if not for Interleague Play.

So keep that in mind, all of you morons who say "They should get rid of Interleague Play."
You are depriving cities not only of the natural cross town rivalry games, but also those unexpected match ups that no schedule make can predict.

If you are against interleague play, I want you to watch the game in Cleveland tomorrow and say "this would be better if it were Nationals vs Diamondbacks."

Once again, the argument has no leg to stand on.

Hey Interleague play haters... you've got NOTHING

As I wrote earlier, only morons criticize Interleague play.

I don't always respect other people's arguments and opinions if their arguments and opinions are baseless.

I don't respect Intelligent Design supporters. I don't respect the Birther movement. I don't respect the people who say Interleague Play is bad for baseball.

And among the argument flung at me like a simian tossing their waste was how unfair it is. "The Yankees get to play the Astros but the Red Sox have to play the Phillies. IT'S NOT FAIR!"

Well here's a way to counter act that injustice... just like the Sox did in May... WIN THE GAMES!

The Sox took have taken 4 out of 5 from the Phillies so far this year and will look to make it 5 of 6 tomorrow.

It's so unfair... for the PHILLIES.

Nonsense.

Complete and utter nonsense.

Interleague Play begins... and morons dislike it

Interleague play begins today for the 14th consecutive season... and inevitably there are people who write the same tired crap about how interleague play has lost its luster.

It's now part of the summer... like cook outs on the 4th of July... someone will bitch and moan about Interleague Play. Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal is the most recent one to offer nothing and vomits up the same tired arguments.


"And remember: this is Major League Baseball's most compelling interleague series. Who's fired up for Rockies vs. Royals action tonight in Kansas City? Or wants to tailgate with us in June, when the Yankees host that carnival of life-altering thrills that is the NL Central's basement-dwelling Houston Astros?"

Oh blah blah blah blah! Nobody is excited to see the Astros play ANYONE!
Where's Jason Gay's article saying we shouldn't have the Astros play the Diamondbacks? Or the Royals play the Orioles?

Baseball is a long long season and the marathon analogy is apt. Everyone watches the beginning and end of the marathon, but few pay attention to the long middle part. People love opening day and the first match ups for big rivalries... and they love the September stretch.

But between Memorial Day and Labor Day there is a long period where only the lunatics like me are paying real close attention. So why not have a Cubs/White Sox match up or an A's/Giants game to break it up.

I ask you Jason Gay, will there be a lot of intrigue for an additional Mariners/Orioles series in July?

Yeah some of the Interleague Match Ups are duds... but isn't it worth the duds to see the Yankees come to Dodger Stadium this summer? Or a Phillies/Yankees World Series rematch? Or seeing Manny return to Fenway? Or the Twins and Braves to meet up and have a 1991 World Series reunion?

When I wrote about this in 2008, I pointed out that interleague play allowed for Ken Griffey Jr. to return to a standing ovation in Seattle... and the cellar dwelling Pirates and Orioles match up brought about a reunions from the 1971 and 1979 World Series.

Yeah, Jason Gay... we had better get rid of moments like THAT in the middle of the season. Instead of bringing back old stars to celebrate and having some possible strange reunions, we should go back to having the leagues stay separate and make the mid season matchups no different than the beginning and end of the season.

I know I've said all of this before. But guess what? As long as the anti Interleague Play lunatics keep writing the same garbage year in and year out, I will have the same response.

I am getting to work on my 2011 post on the same subject.